


The Pale Crocodile

by NCpollyCA



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Actual teenagers, Average! Harry, Frustrated! Harry, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, fed up Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 00:27:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4158651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NCpollyCA/pseuds/NCpollyCA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes there are prophecies that can change the outcome of a person's life, and then there are prophecies that can change the outcome of the world. Unfortunately for Harry, he seems to always be involved with the latter. This time, though, the stakes seem to be a little higher, and there are a lot more dragons. </p><p> </p><p>Starts in the Goblet of Fire.<br/>Tags/Relationships will be updated as the story progresses, as to avoid spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Pale Crocodile

**Author's Note:**

> So, a few notes. This story was originally posted on FF under my other username, LaprasBtch. It was a lot different then, though. It's been changed, for the better, since then. I'm kind of tired of reading Smart! Harry stories where he's suddenly super smart and powerful, so I wanted to write something a little more real. Anyways, let me know of any comments/critiques on the story in the review area. I hope you guys enjoy!

Harry sighed and stared at the glassy surface, as he drew his knees to his chest. He couldn’t help but wonder what lived beneath it. He fumbled with his bag and drew out one of the book’s he’d snagged from Dudley’s pile of discarded birthday presents last year: The Mysterious Monsters of the Water: A Brief Encyclopedia of Water Dwelling Animals. He’d skimmed it pretty thoroughly in his room before coming back to Hogwarts, but he’d kept it around anyways. Something about it just intrigued him. 

He looked over at Hagrid’s hut, frowning as he noticed a lack of smoke puffing up from the chimney. That typically meant the half giant was off running an errand for Dumbledore. Harry’d seen him at the opening feast, but their first class of Magical Creatures had been canceled. It was odd, and rather disappointing, considering Harry had wanted to ask him about what exactly lived in the lake. 

He’d heard rumors that there were mermaids down there, and of course, there was the giant squid, but what else was down there? He chewed on his lip and opened the book. 

“The mayfly is a delicate looking insect with nearly transparent wings. They are most often seen when they swarm for mating or come to lights at night. The adults live only for a few days for the purpose of mating and usually do not eat.” Harry read the passage aloud. The creatures that lived on top of the water didn’t intrigue him too much. He wanted to know what lived under the water. That’s where the interesting stuff was. 

When he was six, he’d gotten the chance to go to the public pool with Dudley and Aunt Petunia a few times. Everything just faded away when he was underwater. It was like a whole different world, one where things were different, where they were better. One where he was happy. He flipped to a different page and read the passage he’d landed on. 

“Leeches are often found in vegetation and the bottom areas of warm shallow water. They are nocturnal, which causes them to seek dark areas during the day.” 

Harry paused and looked back at the lake. Hopefully there were no leeches in there. Then again, from what he’d heard, it wasn’t shallow nor warm. Of course, he’d never dared to put so much as a toe in it. 

Dumbledore had warned against in practically every opening speech. He claimed there were dangers there and detentions awaited those who would tempt said dangers. 

Harry snorted. 

Dumbledore said there were dangers everywhere. Then again, he didn’t want to push anything with the Headmaster cause so far things were going well this year. He hadn’t fucked up yet and wasn’t intending to. This year, he wasn’t going to get in trouble. This year, things were going to be normal, well, as normal as they could be with the whole TriWizard Tournament nonsense. 

He paused and looked around. Then again, no one was around right now. They were all inside gossiping about said tournament, so no one would see him if he were to just feel the water. No one would ever know. 

He stood up and shook the dirt off his robes, laying the book on top of his bag. He looked back towards the castle doors once more before walking to the edge of the water. He watched the water lap at his shoes for a moment before leaning down. He let the water slide over his fingers and smiled. 

“Definitely too cold for leeches.” He said quietly, smiling.

“There are much worse things in here than leeches, young one.” A feminine voice responded. Harry started and jumped back from the water, shoving his hands in his pockets. A light, lilting laugh filled the air.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, young one. I just thought to warn you before you came in.” 

Harry looked around; the grounds were empty. He was the only one here. He had to be imagining things. Shit. What had Hermione said back in their second year rang in his head; even in the magical world, hearing things wasn’t a good thing. 

“Down here, youngling.” The voice called to him. 

Harry looked down at the water. Perhaps it was a mermaid. He had heard those lived in the lake. There was no human face looking back at him, though. In fact, he didn’t see anyone. 

Another lilting laugh filled the air. 

“Do you not see me, youngling? I’m right in front of you.” The voice said. Harry blinked. He stared at the water. There had to be something there. 

An eye blinked at him from the water. He jumped back. 

It had blended in at first, but now, now he could see it. There was a darkish brown reptilian like head floating just barely above the surface of the water. The eyes, though, were what he had noticed. They were white, just white, as if they were empty. 

The feminine laugh surrounded him, but the reptile creature didn’t move. 

“Are you,” Harry paused, rubbing the back of his neck. “Talking to me?” He stared at the creature’s white eyes and waited. 

The creature blinked, but did not respond. 

“I’m going barmy.” Harry said, shaking his head. He sighed and turned around and shoved his book in his bag. Dinner would be starting soon, he should really head back up to the great hall, not hang out here talking to water. As he walked away from the shore, he swore he heard the voice again.

“No, youngling, your mind is just opening.” 

He shrugged. It was probably just the wind. Besides, like Hermione had said two years ago, hearing things was bad and should be ignored. He’d rather not have another run-in with a basilisk or anything of the like. 

He shook his head, tossing the idea of a mysterious voice coming from the lake to the back of his head. There were more important things to focus on, such as his transfiguration homework. 

Upon entering the great hall, Harry saw Ron and Hermione sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table, arguing, as always. Now, he wished he’d stayed outside; he didn’t want to get in the middle of another of their stupid fights. He turned around to go back outside, but stopped as a loud voice called his name. 

“Oi! Harry!” 

His shoulders slumped with a sigh. He turned around to see his redheaded friend waving him over. 

“Fred and George figured it out! They found a way to get past the aging circle.” Ron exclaimed as Harry walked over. Harry slid on to the bench next to Ron and leaned forward, resting his chin in the palm. Hermione frowned. 

“It’s not going to work.” She said. Ron nudged Harry and rolled his eyes. 

“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first.” He said, grinning. 

Harry looked down at the table and traced the wood grains with his eyes. He really should have stayed outside. He was beginning to wonder if talking to an imaginary voice would’ve been better for his sanity than listening to these two bicker all the time. 

“Oh, whatever,” Hermione shoved her things in her bag and stood. “Come on, Harry, let’s go back to the common room and work on the transfiguration essay.” 

“He’s not going to go work on that stupid essay. He’s going to come watch Fred and George get past the aging circle with me,” Ron said, rolling his eyes again. “Right, Harry?” 

“Um, actually-“ Harry began. 

“See, told you.” Ron said, cutting him off and smiling widely at Hermione. Hermione huffed and folded her arms over her chest. 

“Fine.” 

“Hermione, wait” Harry started, but the girl was already walking away. He sighed and closed his eyes, mentally chastising himself for coming inside. 

“Did you really have to be that mean, Ron?” He asked, turning to his friend and opening his eyes. The redhead frowned. 

“She was the one being mean, not me.” He responded, folding his arms over his chest just as Hermione had moments before. 

“You weren’t exactly being nice.” Harry said, raising an eyebrow. He was sick of these two bickering. They were friends, weren’t friends supposed to get along?

“So, you’re taking her side?” His friend asked with a scowl. Harry shook his head. 

“No-“ He started. Ron cut him off. 

“Whatever, mate. I see how it is.” The redhead stood and walked away, leaving his friend staring at his backside. Harry slumped down and put his forehead in his hands. 

Everyday they did this. Ron and Hermione argued and then took it out on him. He was sure that by dinner the two would be talking again but would be glaring at him. He didn’t understand what he was doing wrong. Sighing, he pulled out his encyclopedia of water creatures. He flipped through the pages, picking one at random. 

“Barreleyes, also know as spook fish, are small deep-sea argentiniform fish found in tropical and temperate ocean waters. Named as such for their barrel-shaped tubular eyes, barreleyes are capable of directing their eyes upwards to look for the silhouettes of available prey.”

Harry hummed as he read. He had read most of the book during the summer when he’d been bored, but he liked rereading it. Normally, he hated reading. It was boring and dumb. He could get everything he could learn from a book just by talking to someone. This book, though, was actually kind of interesting. Water stuff was cool. If Hagrid focused more on water creatures in class, maybe he could find it in himself to actually give a fuck. 

He closed the book and started up at the ceiling. A soft grey cloud rolled across the magic ceiling. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn. He liked magic and all, but sometimes, he just didn’t get it. The professors went to fast. They didn’t explain things, and if you asked questions everyone looked at you like you were a bloody moron. The textbooks were dull. The homework was even duller. It was all, well, boring. 

Some stuff was fun. Defense was pretty cool last year when Lupin had taught it. That had been kind of entertaining, but Lupin was gone now and his replacement, Moody, was off his rocker. Potions could be interesting, but Snape just made him feel dumb. Charms made his brain hurt. Divination was bullshit. Transfiguration was confusing. History was just straight up dumb. 

It didn’t help that everyone expected him to already know everything either. He was the Boy-Who-Lived. He’d vanquished the Dark Lord. He was supposed to be a magical prodigy. He wasn’t though. Maybe he could be, if someone would just explain stuff to him, explained to him how magic worked. 

They taught the charms and all, as in the how to, but the why, they didn’t care about. But for Harry, the why was necessary. How was he supposed to figure out how to do something if he didn’t know why it was happening? 

He sighed and closed his eyes. 

Fuck this school. 

His friends were always arguing. The one professor he had liked had left. The curriculum made him feel dumb. Why was he here again? 

Oh right, because he’d killed some evil dude as a baby and could hear voices no one else could. 

He chuckled to himself and opened his eyes. He traced the letters of his book with his index finger, following the loopy cursive writing. 

He paused. His encyclopedia was about muggle creatures; maybe the library would have one on wizarding water creatures—one that would have some kind of explanation for the white eyeball and the feminine voice. Something that would make him feel a little less crazy and maybe even a little less dumb. After all, he’d finally found a muggle book he liked, so maybe there was a chance he could find a wizarding one.


End file.
